The federal regulators alleged that both apps, the 99-cent AcnePwner and the $1.99 AcneApp, falsely promised to treat facial acne by simply controlling colored lights from smart phone display screens. The FTC stated that the marketers of AcneApp even misused a British Journal of Dermatology study on light-based therapy to attempt to persuade shoppers of the app's effectiveness as an acne treament.

“Smartphones make our lives easier in countless ways, but unfortunately when it comes to curing acne, there’s no app for that,” said FTC Chairman, Jon Leibowitz.

According to the FTC complaint, thousands of smart phone consumers were duped by the companies false claims. By FTC's reckoning, there were some 3,300 downloads of AcnePwner from the Android Marketplace and 11,600 downloads of AcneApp from the Apple iTunes Store.

Under the settlement, both companies would be barred from making acne-treatment claims about their apps or other devices as well as marketing the health, safety, or performance benefits of any other device without competent and reliable scientific evidence. Both companies would also be prohibited from misrepresenting research, test of studies.

As part of the settlement, DermaApp would pay $14,294 in fines while AcnePwner will pony-up $1,700.